The Botswana Prison Service (BPS) and Boitekanelo College have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a cooperative framework for education, training and rehabilitation services within the country’s correctional system.

The agreement places healthcare education and skills development at the centre of efforts to strengthen the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and enhance professional development among correctional officers.

Under the MoU, the two institutions will collaborate in areas including nursing, leadership and management, health sciences and public health. Programmes will be extended to officers, prisoners and, where lawfully authorised, former prisoners, subject to existing laws, security protocols and human rights principles.

The partnership is founded on a shared conviction that innovation, collaboration, experiential learning and practical skills development are essential to staff development and the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into their communities.

The scope of cooperation includes rehabilitation and systems strengthening aimed at developing a holistic and sustainable correctional model, as well as life-skills training to empower prisoners and former prisoners for reintegration.

The institutions will also collaborate on psychosocial support programmes for staff and inmates, with the aim of improving mental health outcomes and reducing behavioural incidents within correctional facilities.

Dr Tiro Mampane, Provost at Boitekanelo College, said the partnership was ultimately about transforming individuals before they returned to society.

“Ensure that the person who is committed to prison does not return to society in the same bad form and character that he was at the time of conviction or commission to prison. That person must be changed,” he said.

He added that meaningful transformation required adequate tools and support to shape the character of offenders.

The MoU also provides for student placements and the establishment of a pilot rehabilitation unit, offering a potentially cost-effective way of strengthening institutional capacity.

Botswana Prison Service Commissioner Anthony Mokento said the partnership would provide mutual benefits, particularly through the placement of Boitekanelo students at correctional facilities.

“A partner like Boitekanelo, with over 3 000 students who at some point in their studies require placement, and we’ve been ready to offer and accept them into our fold to do their practicals,” he said.

He said the students would not only fulfil their academic requirements but could also contribute to the delivery of rehabilitation programmes.

Mr Mokento said the partnership would help multiply the human resources available to support rehabilitation programmes, with Boitekanelo expected to make a significant contribution to prisoner rehabilitation.

“Research and data-driven policy development also feature prominently in the agreement. However, any research will require prior written approval from BPS and must comply with applicable ethical, consent, institutional and legal requirements.”

Other areas of collaboration include community reintegration and outreach initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism and improving public acceptance of returning citizens.

The institutions will also work towards standardising rehabilitation programmes to promote greater consistency and scalability across correctional facilities.

The agreement further provides for collaboration in health services, including the deployment of a mobile clinic to provide general health screening, mental health assessments and specialised services, integrated with existing BPS health provisions.

Implementation of the MoU will be guided by annual plans jointly developed and approved by the competent authorities.

The agreement specifies that annual plans will not, by themselves, authorise expenditure, procurement, research, clinical work or access to personal data. Such activities will require separate approvals in accordance with applicable laws, policies and professional standards. ENDS